Based on the feedback I received, I don’t think many people figured out that the “couple” I mentioned on Wednesday actually lives in Washington, DC.

Our federal government hasn’t set a very good example for us, but at least we have Apple. Philip Elmer-DeWitt:

Unless the debt ceiling is raised by Tuesday Aug. 2, the White House keeps reminding us, the U.S. government will no longer be able to pay its bills.

But the U.S. Treasury is already running low. Its closing balance as of Wednesday, July 27, was $73.768 billion.

To put that in perspective, Apple[’s] most recent earning statement shows that it was holding $76.156 billion in cash and marketable securities as of June 25.

Since Apple takes in more money than it spends and the U.S. government does the opposite, the company by now has considerably more cash on hand than Uncle Sam.

I honestly do not know if there is a precedent for a private sector company having more cash than the US Treasury, but it’s an impressive fact—for lots of good and sad reasons.